pussy willow

Stephen Colbert: I feel like there’s a hole in my heart the shape of Jimmy Fallon

Anderson Cooper: Stephen, Do you need a best friend?

Stephen Colbert: Too soon, Anderson. Too soon. Don’t you see that I’m hurting?

Anderson Cooper:I can heal your hurt

Stephen Colbert:Call me

14 | Hogwarts AU

Charles is late. This is typical, but Erik still sighs and eyes the counter, wondering if he should order a mug of butterbeer while he waits.

Somebody sits next to him with a grunt, calling out. “Firewhiskey!”

He knows that voice.

“Professor Logan?”

When Charles hurries into the Hog’s Head he’s trailing snow and unwinding his scarf to beat off the frost gathered there so it doesn’t get wet, and he nearly runs into a broad back as he heads for his usual seat.

“Oh, excuse me—Professor Logan?”

Professor Logan glances at him, before clapping Erik on the back, hand lingering longer that it strictly should, Charles thinks.

“So this is who you were meeting, eh? Another champion of the cause?”

Cause?Charles mouths, but Erik is already blushing (blushing? Erik never blushes) and looking down with a rueful grin.

“No, sir, Charles is just a good friend.”

“Huh. Well. Sounds like you need some support. You want a supervisor, make it official?”

Erik blinks. “You would do that?”

He sounds… hopeful. And he practically has hearts in his eyes, it’s disgusting. Charles has never seen Erik act this way.

“I don’t suppose either of you could enlighten me as to what we’re discussing?” he says as suavely as he knows how. He turns on the big blue eyes for good effect.

“Ah…” Erik says.

“Aw, don’t be shy.” Professor Logan slings an arm around Erik’s shoulders. “He’s got a Hufflepuff crusade, this boy. Dreams big, dontcha? Wants to make his house respected. I’m all for that.”

Charles clenches his jaw. Logan still hasn’t taken his arm off Erik’s shoulders.

“Heads of houses can’t supervise clubs of another house,” he says in his most reasonable tone. Erik is MINE. “It’s against school regulations.”

Erik frowns at him.

“We’ll make it an inter-house club,” Logan says, waving a cigar he produced out of nowhere. It’s lit. “Problem solved.”

Erik looks at him adoringly again.

“Ah,” Charles says. “Splendid. Erik, could I—“ And Erik looks at him with such happiness that he feels like a total prat. “Could I buy us all a round of drinks in celebration?”

Charles joins the club. He’s introduced to something called “Wii.”

He isn’t very good at it.

“Ow,” he says as soon as he’s awake. Then he opens his eyes. Erik’s face is above his own. “I just made a fool of myself, didn’t I?”

“Oh, yes,” Erik confirms. “Knocked yourself out and everything. Don’t worry, we didn’t have to cart you over to Madame Pomfrey, between us we knew enough healing charms to save you from a black eye. You all right?”

“Er. Yes.” Then he remembers himself and sits up straight, scowling. “And what about Professor Logan, I suppose he laughed himself sick?”

“You were pretty funny… Don’t look at me like that, you were! Fine, fine, no, he shooed the rest of the students out so they wouldn’t see your inglorious end.”

Charles grits his teeth, and then regrets it as his head aches.

“Why don’t you like him?” Erik asks suddenly.

“What? I don’t dislike him.” Charles crosses his arms before remembering that the motion broadcasts defensiveness. Obviously he hit himself harder than he thought.

“Don’t give me that, you practically glare daggers every time you think my back is turned.”

Charles stares at him.

“I do have eyes, you know.”

“…It’s undignified,” he mumbles finally, looking away. “I’m a Slytherin, we should be above this kind of thing. Or at least be able to resolve it by trickery, which is basically the same thing.”

“What?” Erik says, brows furrowed.

“Jealousy, you prat!” Charles says, and fixes his eyes on a nice neutral point on the ceiling. “Now go away, you’ve quite humiliated me enough for today.”

“Jealous? Of wh—of Professor Logan?”

Charles feels the misery curling in his stomach. Erik doesn’t have to sound quite so amused.

“Charles.” A hand cups his cheek, and he darts a look at Erik, startled. “You don’t have anything to be jealous of, you berk.”

Erik’s lips are warm and soft, and Charles opens for them with a sigh.

He’ll still keep plotting against Logan, of course. Snakes can shed their skin, but they have the same pattern underneath.